Arroyo making a speech

A B.C.-based Filipino group is calling for an investigation into allegations that the Philippines First Family has secreted large amounts of cash in Canadian bank accounts while buying huge houses and other real estate in Vancouver and Richmond.

The Fil-Am Fil-Can Alliance is urging President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign a waiver allowing a Filipino lawmaker other international groups to find out the truth about their alleged assets in Brunei, Switzerland, Canada, Austria, the United States and the Philippines.

“The Arroyos should disclose as well the true commercial value of their buildings and mansion in San Francisco, California. They should also be told and not forget the “mga umuugong na balita” (talk of the town) here in North America about their alleged newly acquired huge houses and real estate property in the cities of Vancouver and Richmond which are in the name of dummies—though, this time not in the name of Jose Pidal; they should finally put an end to these festering issues,” said Mike Moreno, of the Fil-Am Fil-Can Alliance in a letter published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“Ms Arroyo call us (Overseas Foreign Workers) modern-day heroes because we help a lot in keeping the Philippine economy afloat. Maybe, she should be told that it is an embarrassment for us when we are told by foreign nationals that your President is a crook,” Moreno said in his letter.

None of the allegations against Arroyo or her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo has been proven.

Allegations of corruption and having undeclared assets abroad which have dogged the Arroyos was headline news again in the Philippines recently after lawmaker Peter Alan Cayetano accused the First Family of rigging the 2004 election, violating the Constitution, corruption and human rights abuses.

Cayetano claimed that a member of President Arroyo’s family is keeping a multimillion-dollar account in Munich’s HypoVereins Bank under account number 87570-23030-32100-6271-571.

Mr Arroyo and his lawyers traveled to Germany to obtain certification from HypoVeirensbank in Munich that said he had no account with them and that the account numbers mentioned by Cayetano do not exist.

“I am very happy because it proves that I am telling the truth and Cayetano is lying,” Mr Arroyo said after filing 13 libel complaints demanding CD$656,416 in damages from his accuser.

The President’s husband has also threatened to sue more opposition lawmakers if they repeat the allegations saying: “You are the coward, Mr. Cayetano, not me..You maliciously spread lies and fabricated evidence against me and my family without bothering to get our side…I invited you to go with me to the bank ... at my expense, to verify the truth, but you refused. Real men stand up to their word,” he said.

In response, Cayetano said “a coward hides, bullies and does not confront the issues.”

“I will face anything he throws at me -- libel, ethics complaint and even disbarment. But why doesn’t the president answer issues and charges against her?” he said. “Let the people decide who the coward is.”

The lawsuit follows a flurry of libel cases filed against by Mr. Arroyo against 42 journalists, columnists and editors for stories and commentary that accused him, directly or through innuendo, of corruption and of using his wife’s position for personal gain.

Journalists’ groups have expressed alarm over Mr. Arroyo’s libel suits, which he began filing in 2005, saying that they contribute to the deterioration of freedom of expression in the Philippines, where the press is widely regarded as Asia’s freest and most rambunctious. (see story on Page 20).

The Fil-Am Fil-Can Alliance, an apolitical group based in Richmond, B.C. said the President should sign a waiver allowing Cayetano to “find out the truth”.

“President Macapagal-Arroyo keeps on saying that she wants transparency in her government and that she will never hesitate to put “the crooks” to jail, no matter who they are, even if they are members of her family.

Unfortunately, we haven’t yet heard if proper charges have been filed in court against these people,” said the Alliance.

“Since transparency is a policy of her administration, we urge her now to sign the waiver—to put to rest, once and for all, issues about her family’s alleged hidden wealth, because they affect us, too.”

This is not the first time that the spotlight on the business activities and lifestyle of the Mr Arroyo known in quaint Filipino parlance as the First Gentleman, have hit British Columbia.

In September 2003, The Asian Pacific Post reported that Victoria Toh, a Filipino-Chinese businesswoman, who is a confidante to the First Family of the Philippines, had sought refuge in Vancouver

At that time the allegations were spearheaded by Arroyo rival Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.

Lacson, using parliamentary immunity, alleged that First Gentleman Arroyo laundered at least 260 billion pesos (CD$8.3 billion) in secret bank accounts.

To back up his claims, he provided the statements of a single witness - who has since recanted - and photocopies of bank documents.

Lacson also claimed that besides using the false name Jose Pidal to launder funds, the President’s husband allegedly hid tens of millions in the bank accounts of Victoria Toh, her brother Thomas Jr., who is in Canada, and her brother-in-law Kelvin Tan.

Lacson’s ally Senator Sergio Osmena III also insinuated that some of the cash was used to buy a C$850,000 house in Vancouver.

Lacson, the former Philippines chief of police himself faced accusations that he, and his wife, has secret deposits in a Canadian financial institution and 16 other bank accounts in Hong Kong and the United States.